Originally due some time this fall, Zipper Interactive's SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs is now penciled in for release some time next year. The developer confirmed today that it's delaying the PlayStation 3 game to give it some extra polish.

The developer writes on the official SOCOM site "While we're certainly aware that you've been looking forward to playing SOCOM 4 this year, we don't want to take any shortcuts. Instead, we want to deliver the best and most immersive SOCOM game we possibly can and we're going to use our extra time to do just that."

The PlayStation Move supporting shooter will avoid confrontations with fall's other big shooters, which includes Medal of Honor, Call of Duty: Black Ops and the Xbox 360-only Halo: Reach.